


Complex of the Lamb

by TheNomadGold



Category: Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Lecter Series - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friendship, Love, M/M, Secrets, connection, power, somethingnew, somethingold, triangle?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2016-08-18
Packaged: 2018-04-25 15:25:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4966198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNomadGold/pseuds/TheNomadGold
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All human. Not one innocent. This is how their story goes. But how will their story end?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Down, Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You always told me that no one could ever come between us and that you were always right. And I believed you. I just never thought that you could be so completely wrong. -Will Graham

**DELA**

A vision. Or a nightmare. The image of two figures, pressed tightly close. Synchronized breaths. Deep breathing and…so close to the edge and …melodic words and... so close to the edge, and, they were falling, they were falling, someone should help them. _Got to help them! Wait, no!_

Dela shot up in bed. She quickly placed her hand at her heart, which was beating abnormally fast. It was a dream. Only a dream. She hadn’t fallen off a cliff, and neither had, well, whoever she had let invade her mind. All was good in the world once again. She glanced at her bedside clock. Only twelve minutes before she needed to be up anyway. She threw back her bed sheets and stood up, taking a couple of deep breaths to get her heart back to a normal rhythm. _That’s better_ , she thought. She walked to the bathroom to complete her usual morning routine of shower, brushed teeth, and hair. Then she selected a decent outfit for the day and got dressed while listening to the local news.

Dela glanced at the clock. _Time to go!_ She clicked off her TV, sprinkled fish food in the bowl for her betta, pressed a finger kiss to her lone picture frame, and dashed out the door of her apartment with her purse and backpack.

 

**WILL**

 

 _Salt water_. It would never leave his mind again. Ever again. _Salt water_. The first thing he noticed. The taste. The burn. Coughing it up. Again, and again, and again. _Salt water_. Land. The second thing he noticed. Sand scrapping, burning, causing pain. _ALIVE_. Third thing he noticed. This was…unexpected. He should be dead...he should be dead.

Why wasn’t he dead? Floating with the fish by now? Will grasped enough energy to lift himself up by one hand so that he could assess the situation. He felt a sharp stab of pain coming from his face and chest area. The water had not washed away all the blood. He suddenly felt light headed. _Try and focus,_ he told himself. _Look!_ Will slowly glanced around to his left and then to his right. An object was lying not to far away to his right. It looked like a body. Not moving. Realization flooded Will’s brain and caused an instant headache. And panic.

"Hannibal." Will could barely get the words out his throat was cut and raw from the salty water he had swallowed.  Will stood on wobbly legs and quickly fell back on to the shore. Blood continued to trickle from both of his wounds. They were serious. He knew he did not have long before they weighed upon his consciousness.

He sat on his bottom and tugged at the bottom length of his shirt. It took effort, but he eventually tugged off enough material. He used it to cover his chest wound. Will glanced again at the body lying in the sand. _Unmoving_. The face wound would have to wait.

He gathered strength to stand up once more and, with the help of his newly wrapped chest, made his way as fast as he could to the body. _Yes. Hannibal. No. Hannibal!_

“Hannibal!” Will called into the man’s ear. He did not flinch. “Hannibal!!??” With built up adrenaline, Will swung into action. He flipped Hannibal onto his back and felt over his face. He was feverish, but not cold. That was good! It meant life. He remembered Hannibal being shot and began to tear open his sweatshirt. He gagged as he saw the puncture wound the bullet had created.

Will was torn. He did not see an exit wound, but did not want to try to remove the bullet and accidentally nick a vital organ. Will made a quick decision, used Hannibal’s shredded shirt to cover the bloody wound. His heart beat frantically.

Now, all he needed was Hannibal to wake up. He could not be asleep in his condition. Will needed him to wake up.

“Hannibal, Hannibal please come back. Please!!!??”

He must be crazy. Why was he asking this criminal to come back? Had he not succeed in killing the beast? The monster of society? Now people could live in peace. No more murders. No more cannibalism. No more Hannibal.

But that was not in Will’s design. It was unacceptable. Hannibal could not die. They were supposed to go together.

Will carefully lifted Hannibal's head and rubbed his face. It was boiling.

“Hannibal?” A slight, light, groan escaped Hannibal’s lips. “Will?”

A tear fell down Will’s cheek. “Yes! Yes, Hannibal, I’m here!”

 

**HANNIBAL**

_Will_. They were alive. Alive and breathing. For the moment. Will was struggling now, caring Hannibal like a small child in his arms. But Hannibal was no small child. He knew that he had Will beat by at least sixty pounds. All muscle of course. Still, Will trudged on towards the hut down the shore line that Hannibal had communicated to him about through several moans. 

He faded in and out along the way, but his hands held firm around Will’s neck. He did not know how long it took them to get to the hut. When he came to, Will had already brought over what Hannibal had told him to find in the cupboards of the hut. A stash of antibiotics and band aids. There were no cups or running water.

Hannibal had watched as Will took a forgotten jar on the floor rushed out to the shore line and was back with a jar full of saltwater. He handed Hannibal the pills and the jar. “Bottoms up”, Will said.

Hannibal took the pills. Then, he lay painfully back on the table and quickly told Will that he was on the verge of passing out again, and the proper way to take care of the bullet near his abdomen. Luckily, after a quick assessment, Hannibal had decided that the bullet was nowhere near a vital organ. He instructed Will to clean his hands as thoroughly as possible and reach straight into the wound and pull out the bullet. “Shouldn’t I leave it in, if its not near any organs, I mean I don’t want you to… "

Hannibal lifted Will’s hand. “I trust you William.”

And then, he was out. When Hannibal came to again, he could tell the pain was lessened, and the bullet was gone. But then, so was Will.


	2. Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok. Ok. So Will had hot chocolate :)

**DELA**

Dela looked at her watch. Great! She had about thirty minutes before classes. It was senior year. Of college. She was almost ready to become a full-fledged adult. Living in the adult world. She didn’t know how ready she was. Technically, she had been an official adult for some time now. I guess that’s what you would be considered at the tender age of twenty-four. _Official, yet still “hella” confused_.

She rounded the corner into town and headed straight for her favorite, and only, town news stand. Mr. Linkle was waiting for her with a paper already in hand. “ Happy Morning to ya, Miss Dela! It’s on the house ma’ dear.” She lifted the paper from the middle aged man politely. “Thanks Mr. Linkle! Have a good one!”

Dela huffed on to her next destination: coffee at _the_ Coffee House. The most delectable, loveable, tasteable coffee that ever existed! When she made it to the door, she could already see inside that the place was teeming with people. Just great. She walked in and stood behind three other patrons.

When it was her turn, she ordered a festive pumpkin and mocha iced coffee. She loved iced coffee. Even in the winter. There was just, something about it. Not that she had the money to be buying the stuff daily like she was, but what the hell. She needed something to stay grounded.

As she made her way away from the counter, she glanced around to find that her usual spot was occupied by some middle aged woman of European decent with a pair of fancy glasses on her head, a cup of steaming joe in her hand, and a cellphone in the other. _Bitch_. Okay, so the woman was obviously not really a bitch, but that was Dela’s spot!

Dela sighed and started to look around the small shop for a second option of seating. Oh no! There was nowhere to sit. She walked back and forth between the tables, and love seats. All occupied. Dela absentmindedly started biting her finger nails as she considered what she should do.Anxiety was coming in, full and fast. _Guess I’ll just take it all to school_ , she thought. True, the setting wouldn’t be as cozy, but at least she got her coffee.

Dela was still thinking when she felt a tap on her arm. It was a man. A rather handsome, boyish looking one, if you got past his stubbly chin. “Excuse me, you’re welcome to sit, if you would like.” “Are, are you talking to me?” Dela thought it was a legit question, considering the fact that the man never made straight eye contact with her while talking, but instead seemed engrossed in a book.

“Yes.” The man made a better effort to look at Dela, but she could tell it was a challenge for him. “You’re welcome to take a seat. I saw you looking around…your dilemma.” Dela smiled. “Thank you.” The man nodded and went back to his book. _The Butterfly Effect_. He seemed very standoffish, but Dela did not want to be in an uncomfortable situation. In fact, she tried to avoid awkwardness at all cost. It was only nice of her to start off a conversation if they were going to share a table. The news would have to wait for a while. She stashed the paper in her back pack.

“Hi.” As she sat down, she held out her hand across the table. “I’m Dela.” The man found a stopping place in his reading and looked up. He glanced at Dela’s outstretched hand. He breathed in deeply and grasped her hand and looked at her straight on through his small black rimmed glasses. “Hi. I’m Will.”

 

 

 

**WILL**

Months. It had been months since he had last laid eyes on the Atlantic. Saw his face. Held his hand. Pulled out the bullet. And left him. This was nothing of course. They had been apart for at least three years. And then, simply picked up where they had left off. On their sickening cat and mouse chase.

 

This morning, Will had come to find himself sitting inside a quaint little coffee spot located in the Ithaca Commons. He had been a resident of Ithaca, NY for about two months now. And he was loving every bit of it. The atmosphere of a fresh school year for university students was definitely apparent. Every once and a while, Will would see a hurried young adult entering the shop, bringing in a sway of leaves in different shades of red, browns, and orange. Most of the young people always had that slight sheen of sweat on their forehead. Always in a hurry. Always some where to be. Someone to see. 

 

He had planned before coming this far North. He needed new scenery to, well, to start a life he never knew he would have the chance of starting. So what would he do? Who would he be? A college professor? A supply store owner? Work at the animal shelter?

 

As far as he knew, his life in the field of anything FBI related, was over. And Jack, Alana, everyone back in Virginia, thought him dead. Surprisingly, he had peace in that fact. Except...

That one person that knew he was alive. And that's why he was here. In a college town. The last place that man would look for him. According to his now ex therapist, Will was the epitome of all anti socialists, choosing to have no other company but himself and his furry little, 4-legged friends. _Oh Dr. Lecter. You have so much to learn about me._

Whenever outdoors in his new town, Will could count on being surrounded by people, day and night. It was a true challenge for him. His nerves were on edge anytime the crowds became too heavy, usually due to college functions: a pep rally or an awareness meeting in the commons. The town was the college. The college was the town. The distraction from it all was wonderful. When it worked.He had decided to do some freelance writing and possibly cover some of the local events of the town, if he could stand to attend them.

Currently, he was trying to navigate his way through one of the books he had on his list of "must reads" while sipping a hot chocolate. _The Butterfly Effect_. He was able to read a few paragraphs, but his reading was thrown off again due to the back and forth motion of another customer.

He looked up over his book. A girl, well young women, with caramel skin and tightly curled hair pulled up in a high bun was prancing back and forth in search of a seat. She carried with her a backpack, her coffee, and what looked like a fresh off the press paper. Will eyed the forehead sweat sheen. _A student._

He secretly hoped that someone else would be gracious enough to offer the poor girl a seat and he glanced up rather frequently to see if she had found success. Nope. She had come to a stop just to the side of Will's table, looking utterly defeated and thrown off balance. As if her world had ended. _If she only knew_.

Will took a deep breath, gathered enough strength and tapped the girl on the arm. He could not help but to keep his eyes on the table. He offered a chair to her. The girl was gracious and had sat down. It took Will a minute to realize that she had her hand outstretched for his. He put his book down and made eye contact. Her name: Dela. 

"Hi. I'm Will." And they had coffee. Together. 


	3. Girl Meets Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grammar corrections will be made at a later date.

Their conversation was surprisingly easy. Will would have never guessed it would be so easy to talk to someone, except for Hannibal. The only word he could come up with as far as their conversation was fluid, very fluid. Of course, they did not discuss anything heavy, on light items, surface material. 

 

"So you're currently studying?"

 

"Psychology. With a minor in dance."

"Well that's one way to stand out. Dance is, something." Will smiled. 

 

"Do you dance Will?" Delia raised her eyebrows.

"No. Absolutely not." Will bowed his head slightly and Dela could see a slight pink rise to his cheeks. She giggled.

 

"that's okay. I can tell where your experience lies. In books." She motioned towards the book in Will's hand

"Well I do like a good book I gu---" Will didn't finish his sentence. His last few words caught in his throat as he stared at one of the tv screens up on the wall of the coffee shop. 

"No, it can't be." Will mumbled under his breath. 

Dela frowned and turned in the direction of the screen. 

Hannibal. Hannibal was on TV talking to a reporter. He was alive and well (of course Will knew this before he had left the state) and, how the fuck was he able to do this without the FBI knowing? Where is his crazy person jumpsuit? What's going on?! Will was starting to freak out. Then to add to his anxiety, his own picture flashed across the screen. He tried to remain calm as Dela did a double take between him and the screen. 

"I, I thought you looked familiar. " She frowned. "You're Will Graham." 

Will glanced quickly between the tables closet to them. Then he whispered "Yes." There was no point in lying to this girl. After all, she was a psychologist in the making. 

Dela scratched her head and looked perplexed. "If I'm remembering right, they think you're dead?" 

Will relaxed a little. If anyone else had made this connection they would have flown away by now, but she seemed more curious than fearful. 

"Yes, long story short, I was driven to do certain things by my psychologist Dr. Lester."

"And now you're dead."

" I want to be. I used to work for the FBI but I just wanted out so what better way to go than a fake death. " 

"I see." Dela looked even more confused. 

They continued to listen to the broadcast. Apparently Hannibal was still considered a suspect in the Dolerhyde case as well as Will's disappearance but without any incriminating evidence, the FBI was unable to detain him. He could walk openly and freely within the US. Flights out to the country were forbidden. 

So that's how you are able to get close ups you devil. You left no evidence behind. Typical. 

When Will brought his eyes back to Dela she was staring. Hard. His nerves quickly got the best of him and he looked down. 

"Was he really as bad as they say? I mean, did he do all of those things?"

Will gulped. He looked up at her eyes and couldn't lie. " Yes. I think so." 

 

Dela sat there for a while and let that sink in. "And you came here because--"

" I had to get away from his influence." Will emphasized his words with his fingers. 

Dela happened to glance at his watch. "Shit I'm going to be late!" She left her half finished coffee cup on the table as she grabbed up her purse and back pack. She stood to leave but quickly turned back around. 

" I'm so sorry about what happened to you and your psychologist but...Sometimes life throws us the heaviest items and orders us to swim. She placed her hand on his shoulder. Take care Will."

Will was left sitting at the small table with his mouth gaped open as he watched the woman flee the building.  
"Or maybe," he mumbled to himself. "Life throws a little empathy our way."


	4. Smile For Me Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh Hanni.

Hannibal smiled brightly for the cameras. He knew he would be plastered all over the news. A breaking news story for the whole world to see. _Maniac killer psychologist running amock as FBI scrambles for incriminating evidence._ Yes he thought. That reads nicely.

He managed to say a few words about how he and Will Graham had defeated Dolerhyde, unfortunately resulting in Will Graham's untimely death. You see will went don't a hero as he tackled Dolerhyde into the great Atlantic sea. May he rest in peace.

_Where have you gone Will?_

He also added the fact that he had been cleared of all previous charges against him, stating that he was pressured into surrendering by Dolerhyde himself. Blame the sacrificial lamb. Hannibal grinned wide as the cameras kept flashing .

  
His path was now clear. He was healed and ready to hunt. Finding Will would be easy. He was bound to slip up. 


	5. Must Like Coffee

 

She was great and nothing like him. Will could not have imagined his turned luck. Could he even call it good luck? No, don't jinx this.

  
But Dela truly was a great girl. After their first meeting, Will waited a day before gathering the nerve to ask to meet for another coffee. She suggested lunch.

Truthfully, he was getting somewhat lonely now with Alana and Jack and "others" not pestering him every minute of the day. That was what he was used to.

This was better. Their talks were never too deep. She never tried to over analyze him and he never asked why she never mentioned her family or up bringing. They just, enjoyed each other's company.

By their fifth coffee session(date) Will escorted Dela back to her apartment building and under a gleaming street light gave her a light kiss. Then the kiss deepened. She tasted like coffee. Good.


End file.
